Method and apparatus for voice interactive messaging

ABSTRACT

A method comprising receiving a request to compose a message; outputting a first prompt requesting a recipient for the message; receiving a first audible response to the first prompt, the first audible response including a recipient of the message; outputting a second prompt requesting a body for the message; receiving a second audible response to the second prompt, the second audible response including a body of the message; and composing the message. An electronic device for voice messaging comprising an audible guide module for audibly prompting a user for recipient information and for audibly prompting a user for message information; a voice recognition module for interpreting received responses to the audible prompt for the recipient information and the audible prompt for the message information; and a message compiler module for creating a message from the responses to the audible prompt for the recipient information and the audible prompt for the message information.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/554,755, filed Mar. 18, 2004 entitled VOICEINTERACTIVE MESSAGING, to Takeda et al., which application is fullyincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to composing messages. More specifically,the present invention relates to interactive voice messaging forcomposing messages.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

In order to send a message via a mobile phone, a user most often willneed to read a small screen, type on a generally awkward and smallkeypad, use a cryptic handwriting language, correct handwritingtranslation errors, and select one or more hard/soft buttons on themobile phone. In general the process of sending a message via a mobilephone requires different user interaction techniques to accomplish asingle message sending task.

Thus, a system and method for conveniently creating and sending messagesis needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The different embodiments described herein address the above mentionedneeds as well as other needs by providing a method and apparatus forvoice interactive messaging.

One embodiment can be characterized as a method comprising receiving arequest to compose a message; outputting a first prompt requesting arecipient for the message; receiving a first audible response to thefirst prompt, the first audible response including a recipient of themessage; outputting a second prompt requesting a body for the message;receiving a second audible response to the second prompt, the secondaudible response including a body of the message; and composing themessage.

Another embodiment is characterized as an electronic device for voicemessaging comprising an audible guide module for audibly prompting auser for recipient information and for audibly prompting a user formessage information; a voice recognition module for interpretingreceived responses to the audible prompt for the recipient informationand the audible prompt for the message information; and a messagecompiler module for creating a message from the responses to the audibleprompt for the recipient information and the audible prompt for themessage information.

A subsequent embodiment includes an electronic device comprising meansfor receiving a request to compose a message; means for outputting afirst prompt requesting a recipient for the message; means for receivinga first audible response to the first prompt, the first audible responseincluding a recipient of the message; means for outputting a secondprompt requesting a body for the message; means for receiving a secondaudible response to the second prompt, the second audible responseincluding a body of the message; and means for composing the message.

Still another embodiment is characterized as an electronic device forvoice messaging comprising an audible guide module for audibly promptinga user for message information; a voice recognition module forinterpreting received responses to the audible prompt for the messageinformation; and a message compiler module for creating a message fromthe response the audible prompt for the message information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more apparent from the following more particulardescription thereof, presented in conjunction with the followingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a voice messaging system inaccordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a voice messaging system inaccordance with an alternative embodiment;

FIGS. 3A-3C are a flow diagram illustrating a method of voice messagingin accordance with one embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of voice messaging inaccordance with another embodiment.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding componentsthroughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans willappreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicityand clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example,the dimensions, sizing, and/or relative placement of some of theelements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements tohelp to improve understanding of various embodiments of the presentinvention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful ornecessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depictedin order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these variousembodiments of the present invention. It will also be understood thatthe terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary meaning as isusually accorded to such terms and expressions by those skilled in thecorresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where otherspecific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is not to be taken in the limiting sense, butis made merely for the purpose of describing the general principles ofthe invention. The scope of the invention should be determined withreference to the claims.

Referring to FIG. 1 a block diagram is shown illustrating a voicemessaging system in accordance with one embodiment. Shown is anelectronic device 100, a sound recorder 102, a sound database 104, acomparing module 106, an audible guide module 108, a recorded guidemodule 110, a speaker 112, a message composer 114, a contact database116, a multimedia database 118, and a message 120.

The electronic device 100 includes the sound recorder 102, the sounddatabase 104, the comparing module 106, the audible guide module 108,the recorded guide database 110, the speaker 112, the message composer114, the contact database 116, and the multimedia database 118. Thesound recorder 102, the sound database 104, the comparing module 106,the audible guide module 108, the recorded guide database 110, themessage composer 114, the contact database 116, and the multimediadatabase 118 are implemented, in one embodiment, using a processor andone or more memory devices. The processor controls the operation of theelectronic device and controls the access and the operation of the oneor more memory devices.

The electronic device 100 is configured to compose and send messages ofdifferent types (e.g., voicemail, email and instant messaging) inresponse to a user audibly interacting with the electronic device 100.Preferably, the electronic device 100 audibly prompts the user forcomponents or pieces of the message in order to compose the message.

In operation, the sound recorder 102 receives a voice input and convertsthe voice input into sound data. The comparing module 106 compares thesound data to data stored in the sound database 104. The sound database104 stores previously recorded words and phrases for a user. In thismanner, the electronic device 100 is trained by the user to recognizethe user's voice patterns. This is known as speaker dependent voicerecognition. In order to populate the sound database 104, the useroptionally will go through a training process where commands are spokenby the user and recorded into the sound database 104.

Upon finding a match between the sound data and data stored in the sounddatabase 104, information indicating a match is sent to the audibleguide module 108. The audible guide module 108 analyzes the informationsent from the comparing module 106 and determines the next piece ofinformation needed from the user to compose a message. The audible guidemodule 108 then sends a signal to the recorded guide module 110. Therecorded guide module 110 outputs a request for information through thespeaker 112. The output, in one embodiment, is a request for a recipientof a message. The electronic device 100 then waits for a response fromthe user.

The sound recorder 102 next records the response from the user as sounddata. The comparing module 106 compares the recorded sound data toinformation in the sound database 104. The recorded sound data isinformation that will be used to compose a message, for example, arecipient, a subject, a body, a message type, or an attachment. Theelectronic device treats the response as corresponding to theinformation requested in the previous prompt for information. Forexample, if the previous request was “Who would you like to send amessage to?” then the recorded sound data is treated as recipientinformation and used to gather information from the contact database116. Similarly, if the previous request was “What file would you like toattach to the message?” then the recorded sound data is used to attach afile from the multimedia database 118. In another example, if theprevious request was “Please state your message?” the recorded sounddata is used to compose the body of the message 120. This will befurther described and illustrated herein with reference to FIG. 3.

The body of the message can be delivered to the recipient in a number ofdifferent ways. For example, in one embodiment, the body of the messageis stored as a sound file and sent as an attachment in an email.Alternatively, the body of the message is converted into text and sentto the recipient, for example, as an instant message or an email. Themessage composer 114 utilizes all of the responses to the requests forinformation in order to assemble the final message. The message is thensent to the user utilizing, for example, a cellular telephone system anda cellular network. In a preferred embodiment the electronic device is acellular telephone, however, the electronic device is for example, adesktop computer, a laptop computer, a PDA, and a tablet PC inalternative embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a voice messagingsystem in accordance with an alternative embodiment. Shown is anelectronic device 200, a sound recorder 202, a sound database 204, amessaging engine and voice interface module 206, an audible guide module208, a recorded guide module 210, a speaker 212, a message composer 214,a contact database 216, a multimedia database 218, and a message 220.

The electronic device 200 is configured to compose and send messages ofdifferent types (e.g., voicemail, email and instant messaging) inresponse to a user audibly interacting with the electronic device 200.Preferably, the electronic device 200 audibly prompts the user forcomponents or pieces of the message in order to compose the message.

In operation, the sound recorder 202 receives a voice input and convertsthe voice input into sound data. The messaging engine and voiceinterface module 206 interprets the sound data and determines whataction to take based upon the analysis of the sound data. The sounddatabase 204 stores information needed for a speaker independent voicerecognition system. In this manner, the device does not need to betrained by the user to recognize the user's voice patterns as the devicehas the capability to recognize any voice input through analysis of thesound data. This is known as speaker independent voice recognition.

After analyzing the sound data and data stored in the sound database204, the messaging engine and voice interface module 206 determines howthe electronic device 200 should respond to the user input. For example,if the user would like to send a message, the messaging engine and voiceinterface module 206 directs the audible guide module 208 to requestadditional information from the user. The audible guide module 208 thenretrieves a request from the recorded guide database 210 and the requestis then output through the speaker 212. The output, in one embodiment isa request for a recipient of a message. The electronic device 200 thenwaits for a response from the user. The sound recorder 202 next recordsthe response from the user as sound data. The messaging engine and voiceinterface module 206 use the recorded sound data and determine arecipient for the message. The recipient for the message will be used bythe message composer 214 to create a message.

The electronic device 200 continues to output audible requests for allof the data needed to compose a message and records the replies from auser as sound data. The recorded sound data is information that will beused to compose a message, for example, a recipient, a subject, a body,a message type, or a filename of an attachment. The electronic devicetreats the response as corresponding to the information requested in theprevious prompt for information. For example, if the previous requestwas “Who would you like to send a message to?” then the recorded sounddata is treated as recipient information. Similarly, if the previousrequest was “What file would you like to attach to the message?” thenthe recorded sound data used to determine an appropriate file to attach.In another example, if the previous request was “Please state the bodyof your message?” the recorded sound data is treated as the body of themessage.

Referring next to FIGS. 3A-C a flow diagram is shown illustrating amethod of voice messaging. In the illustrative embodiment, the method isperformed through interaction with an electronic device. For example,the electronic device is in alternative embodiments, a cellulartelephone, a personal digital assistant, a desktop computer, a laptopcomputer, or a tablet personal computer (PC).

In step 300, a user interacts with an electronic device in order toinvoke a messaging application. For example, the user issues a voicecommand or presses a button (soft or hard key) of the electronic device.In step 302, the electronic device recognizes the user's request andinvokes a messaging application. The electronic device next proceeds toaudibly guide the user through a message creation session in step 304.

In step 306, the electronic device requests a recipient of the message.For example, the device will audibly output “To who would you like tosend a message?” through, for example, a speaker on the electronicdevice. The electronic device then awaits a response (e.g., John Smith)from the user. In step 308, the user speaks the recipients name (e.g.John Smith) which the electronic device receives and records. In step310, the electronic device searches an address book for the recordedresponse. For example, the electronic device searches for “John Smith”in the address book. Continuing the example of “John Smith” being therecipient, in step 312, the electronic device gathers information forJohn Smith's account and determines the next type of information neededto compose a message. For example, the electronic device determines thetypes of messages that John Smith can receive and also optionallydetermines which devices John Smith currently has access to or prefersto be contacted at.

The electronic device then, in step 314, collects voice data from thesound database and composes an audible prompt. For example, “John Smithis now available at mobile phone, office email and instant messenger(IM). The default message is IM. Is this okay?” The electronic devicethen awaits a response from the user. In an alternative embodiment, theelectronic device simply chooses a type of message to be sent basedupon, for example, the preferred message type of the recipient. Thisfeature will be described herein below in greater detail with referenceto FIG. 4. In step 320, the user responds, for example, “Yes” or “No”and the electronic device records and processes the response. In theexample shown the user responds by saying “No.” Next, in step 322, theelectronic device audibly guides the user for a desired message type. Instep 324, the electronic device directs the user interaction byoutputting the audible prompt “choose the addressee for your message.Say Yes for your choice.” In step 326, the electronic device identifiesa first messaging method for the recipient of the message and in step328 outputs the audible prompt “Mobile Phone.” The electronic device, instep 330, determines that “yes” was not spoken by the user and proceedsto identify a second messaging method for the recipient. Following, instep 332, outputs audible prompt “Office Email” and waits for aresponse. In step 334, the user speaks “Yes” and the electronic device,in step 336, records the user response, stores the response as sounddata, and composes an audible confirmation for the user. In step 338 theelectronic device audibly outputs “message will be sent to John Smith'soffice email.”

In step 340, the electronic device audibly guides the user by promptingthe user for a body of the message and in step 342 outputs an audibleprompt requesting a body of the message that states “please speak yourmessage now.” In step 344, the user speaks the body of the message. Theelectronic device then awaits a response from the user and records theresponse. In step 346, the device records the message and waits for anindication that the body of the message is complete (e.g., two secondsof silence indicates the end of the message in step 350). The electronicdevice, in steps 348 and 350, then audibly confirms that the message iscomplete by outputting “Is your message completed?” from the speaker. Instep 356, upon receiving a user response of “Yes” the electronic deviceoutputs an audible confirmation that the message is being sent in step358. For example, in step 360, the electronic device outputs “Yourmessage is being sent to John Smith's office e-mail” to confirm that allof the information needed to send the message has been received.

In step 354, if the message was not completed, the electronic devicewill resume recording the message. Next in Step 362, the electronicdevice composes the message using the recipient, type of message andbody of the message gathered from the user. In one embodiment, the bodyof the message (i.e., the recorded sound data) is converted into text,while in another embodiment, the response is sent to the recipient as anaudio file or audible message. For example, an email message can includethe body with a text message or the email could include an audio file asan attachment. Lastly, in step 364, the electronic device audibly output“Your message has been sent to John Smith” to confirm the message wassent to the recipient. Each time the user speaks a response theelectronic device processes the response according to whether theelectronic device is a speaker independent or speaker dependent voicerecognition system. For example, in a speaker dependent system, thesound data from the user's response is compared to a database containingpre-recorded words and phrases spoken by the user.

Referring to FIG. 4, a flow diagram is shown illustrating a method ofvoice messaging in accordance with one embodiment.

First in step 400, an electronic device receives a request to compose amessage. For example, a user selects a messaging function on theelectronic device through a menu option or a messaging button.Alternatively, a user can audibly request to send a message. Theelectronic device employs either a speaker dependent or speakerindependent voice recognition system. For a speaker dependent system,the electronic device will compare the audible request to send a message(converted to sound data) to a database of prerecorded words or phrasesin order to recognize the request. For a speaker independent voicerecognition system, the system will recognize what the user says andproceed without the need to store pre-record user-specific phrases intothe database.

Next in step 402, the electronic device outputs a first promptrequesting a recipient for the message. In a preferred embodiment, theelectronic device outputs an audible prompt that requests the recipientof the message. Alternatively, the device can output the request for therecipient by placing the prompt on a display screen of the electronicdevice.

Next in step 404, the electronic device receives a first audibleresponse to the first prompt, the first audible response including arecipient of the message. For example, the electronic device receivesthe name “John Smith” that was spoken by the user at a microphone andrecords the response as sound data.

Next in step 406, the electronic device outputs a second promptrequesting a body for the message. In a preferred embodiment, theelectronic device outputs an audible prompt that requests the body ofthe message. Alternatively, the device can output the request for thebody of the message by placing the prompt on a screen of the electronicdevice.

In step 408, the electronic device receives a second audible response tothe second prompt, the second audible response including a body of themessage.

Following, in step 410, the electronic device composes the message. Forexample, the message is composed for the intended recipient includingthe body of the message. In one example, an email is created and sent tothe recipients email address. The email can contain an attachment thatincludes sound data of the message body or the email can include a textportion that has been created by the electronic device by converting thesound data into text. Alternatively, the electronic device can leave avoice mail for the recipient or send the recipient an instant message.

In an optional step, the electronic device outputs a prompt requesting amessage type for the message. For example, the device can prompt theuser as to whether to send a voice message or and email. The electronicdevice then receives an audible response including a type of message tobe sent. In an alternative embodiment, the electronic device determineswhat type of message to send based upon a current status of therecipient or a preferred contact mode for the recipient. One method andsystem for identifying a current status of a recipient, or what type ofmessage they would currently prefer to receive is described in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/872,993, filed Feb. 2, 2004 entitled“AUTOMATIC USER DEVICE PRESENCE REGISTRATION SYSTEM,” which is fullyincorporated herein by reference. Therefore, in one embodiment, theelectronic device automatically determines what type of message will besent to the recipient and does not need to prompt the user for the typeof message to send.

When the electronic device automatically determines what type of messageto send to the recipient, the electronic device will also automaticallydetermine the best form for the body of the message. For example, in anemail message, the body could be converted to text if the recipient isat a work computer. However, if the recipient is only available on theirPDA, the body could be an audio file attachment the user can listen to,as reading the text may be more difficult on the small screen of a PDA.

In another aspect of the present invention, the electronic device can beused to update the user's availability and preferred contact type.Preferably, the user can audibly interact with the electronic device inorder to update their availability and preferred contact type. Asdescribed before, a system for AUTOMATIC USER DEVICE PRESENCEREGISTRATION is described in U.S. application Ser. No. 10/872,993.

While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means ofspecific embodiments and applications thereof, other modifications,variations, and arrangements of the present invention may be made inaccordance with the above teachings other than as specifically describedto practice the invention within the spirit and scope defined by thefollowing claims.

1. A method comprising: receiving a request to compose a message;outputting a first prompt requesting a recipient for the message;receiving a first audible response to the first prompt, the firstaudible response including a recipient of the message; outputting asecond prompt requesting a body for the message; receiving a secondaudible response to the second prompt, the second audible responseincluding a body of the message; and composing the message.
 2. A methodof claim 1 further comprising: outputting a third prompt requesting amessage type for the message; and receiving a third audible response tothe third prompt, the third response including a type of message.
 3. Amethod of claim 2 further comprising altering the type of message basedupon the availability of the recipient.
 4. A method of claim 3 furthercomprising comparing the received responses to a database.
 5. A methodof claim 3 further comprising comparing the received responses to asound database.
 6. A method of claim 1 further comprising attaching anelectronic file to the message.
 7. An electronic device for voicemessaging comprising: an audible guide module for audibly prompting auser for recipient information and for audibly prompting a user formessage information; a voice recognition module for interpretingreceived responses to the audible prompt for the recipient informationand the audible prompt for the message information; and a messagecompiler module for creating a message from the responses to the audibleprompt for the recipient information and the audible prompt for themessage information.
 8. An electronic device of claim 7, wherein thevoice recognition module comprises a speaker dependent module.
 9. Anelectronic device of claim 7, wherein the voice recognition modulecomprises a speaker independent module.
 10. An electronic device ofclaim 7, wherein the voice prompting module audibly prompts a user for amessage type.
 11. An electronic device of claim 7, further comprising arecipient identification module for determining an intended recipient ofa message.
 12. An electronic device of claim 11, further comprisingretrieving the intended recipient of the message from a contact book.13. An electronic device comprising: means for receiving a request tocompose a message; means for outputting a first prompt requesting arecipient for the message; means for receiving a first audible responseto the first prompt, the first audible response including a recipient ofthe message; means for outputting a second prompt requesting a body forthe message; means for receiving a second audible response to the secondprompt, the second audible response including a body of the message; andmeans for composing the message.
 14. An electronic device of claim 13further comprising: means for outputting a third prompt requesting amessage type for the message; and means for receiving a third audibleresponse to the third prompt, the third audible response including atype of message.
 15. An electronic device of claim 14 further comprisingmeans for altering the type of message based upon the availability ofthe recipient.
 16. An electronic device of claim 15 further comprisingmeans for comparing the received responses to a database.
 17. Anelectronic device of claim 15 further comprising means for comparing thereceived responses to a sound database.
 18. An electronic device ofclaim 13 further comprising means for attaching an electronic file tothe message.
 19. An electronic device for voice messaging comprising: anaudible guide module for audibly prompting a user for messageinformation; a voice recognition module for interpreting receivedresponses to the audible prompt for the message information; and amessage compiler module for creating a message from the response theaudible prompt for the message information.
 20. An electronic device ofclaim 19 wherein the message information includes a recipient of themessage and a body of the message.